Poem `Barbie Doll`

The Unrealistic Expectations on Women 's Appearance based on the Poem `Barbie Doll` by Marge Piercy

Introduction

All throughout history women were treated in different ways . In some cultures (like in some African countries ) they were regarded as inferior , female specie to be dominated by the physically stronger males . In some cultures , however like the United States , they are more or less treated as equals . But no matter how women are regarded in any culture , those who posses superior beauty than the rest are given extra consideration . In modern times what

is promoted as beautiful are thin figured women . They were given more attention from admiring men and were entitled to some privileges like in careers or jobs . Aside from that , in relationships , these sexy ' women get more men and sometimes take away the men of the less sexy ' ones

This explains why women tried so hard to become beautiful and in modern context that means achieving a thin figure . They get into all sorts of dieting plans and do a lot of exercises just to fit to what society calls a beautiful woman . But to fit a woman to some mold of beauty is very unrealistic . The modern perception of physical beauty , the Barbie Doll ' figure , is very hard and perhaps impossible to attain by some women . Such beauty stereotype usually resulted to damaging a woman 's self-concept that ultimately leads to emotional and psychological problems

This will discuss on physical beauty stereotype and what women do to fit to that mold . It will also argue why comparing a woman to a Barbie doll beauty ' is a very unrealistic way of ascribing importance and value to womanhood . It will also discuss how this unrealistic expectation generally affects the women . The basis of discussion on the unrealistic expectations of women 's appearance is Marge Peircy 's poem `Barbie Doll

The Barbie Doll Beauty

In the first stanza of the Poem , it states there that a certain girlchild (which could be any child all over the world ) is presented with a doll . In other words , early on she was informed of the kind of appearance is expected of her . It does not say that what was given was a Barbie doll , but could be assumed that it is so based on the title Almost all girls had owned or seen a Barbie doll . What is noticeable about Barbie is her slim physique . In real life , this is the kind of body that people call sexy . Barbie possessed long slender straight legs , curvaceous hips and small waists . She had ample breast and thin arms as well as big eyes , kissable lips and cute aquiline nose . All of these attributes constitutes to a Barbie doll beauty . In human aspect , the same attributes of physical beauty are expected on a woman although more emphasis was given on being thin

The Barbie doll ' thin figure is most widely promoted in TV and other print advertisements like magazine , billboards and radio commentary . In many researches...